About 11.7 percent of small to medium-sized businesses in the US will likely experience some sort of employment lawsuit. This common form of litigation exists to settle grievances or wrongdoing between employer and employee. Consider these strategies if you happen to find yourself in need of professional employment law assistance.

Assess the details of your situation to know what kind of litigation you're facing

There are several forms of employee grievance that might bring about litigation. Examples include discrepancies over wages or salary, workplace harassment, accusations of employment discrimination, and workers' compensation cases. Your employee might also sue over pensions and retirement benefits or unpaid severance packages. 

As an employer, you need to treat each and every situation with the seriousness it deserves. Speak to the employee and have your business attorney or a human resources representative present. Make a detailed log of the incident in question. From there, you can study your rights and obligations as a company and figure out a legal defense strategy or settlement.  

Always attempt a workable solution before pursuing litigation. Either way, you should hire an employer attorney to represent your interests further.

Enlist the assistance of an employer attorney that can work on your case

Your State Bar Association database or organizations like the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) can also point you forward some credible attorneys. Find out their specialties to make sure you can defend yourself against an employee suit. One attorney might specialize in workers' compensation, while others do class action lawsuits. Make sure they're experienced in speaking before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as well. 

When at all possible, keep an attorney on staff at your company. These kinds of attorneys draw salaries of about $86,000 annually, so prepare accordingly. 

Follow your legal advice and pursue the best solutions

After you have come to terms with the employer attorney lawyer, they can begin steering the course of your case. The process starts by acquiring an abundance of evidence from the employee and their complaint. This involves a series of hearings and fact-checking. 

Your attorney will need to be a sharp negotiator, as your employee's attorney will likely pursue a settlement rather than a court case. Settlements are commonplace for workplace disputes, and all parties should work to rectify the grievance and pay out a price that is fair for both parties. 

Let these tips guide you as you put together your case. To learn more, contact an employer attorney.